We never really got into those Chinese "desserts" that come in soup format. Thinking about it, I'm not really into "Chinese desserts", in general.

[js]It took me quite a long time to just even warm up to the idea of Chinese dessert soups. Or one dessert soup in particular, the red bean soup which I usually have with evaporated milk. (I ask for milk, which renders me very strange to the servers). I don't usually have the other kinds of Chinese dessert soups.

This Blueberry Soup is a recipe from the restaurant where I used to work. It was developed by pastry chef Dawne Gourley.

Actually, more accurately, it's from the cookbook: Simply Bishop'sby John Bishop (owner of Bishop's and "local celebrity") and Dennis Green (the executive chef during my stint). We never had this soup on the menu when I was there.

(Oh, I realize now that this soup was the reason we bought tarragon in the first place.)

It's one of those treasured dump-into-a-pot dishes. In the pot goes blueberries, lemon zest and juice, sugar, white wine, water, tarragon and thyme. All it needs is about 5-10 minutes worth of cooking, just until the blueberries soften.

When the mixture has cooled a little, everything gets blended with mascarpone.

Then it needs to chill.

This was quite nice. I liked the body the mascarpone lent to the soup. Personally, though, I would up the tarragon flavor... probably doubling the amount of tarragon. And I'll also lessen the sugar just a tad.

I am still not wholly convinced about a dessert "soup"; I couldn't drink a whole serving of it. Perhaps I would adapt this to make a drink instead. =)

Place blueberries, lemon zest and juice, sugar (or honey), white wine, water, tarragon and thyme into a soup pot. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat; simmer, uncovered, until fruit is soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the stove and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Transfer to a blender or food processor and add mascarpone cheese. Purée until smooth. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

To serve, ladle soup into slightly chilled bowls and garnish with a swirl of yogurt in the centre.

[ts]When I was typing, I made a typo and wrote "To serve, ladle soup into slightly chipped bowls." Bwahahaha. I found that highly amusing.

19 comments:

You know, I've always been uneasy with the idea of dessert soup too. Your picture of blending the mascarpone into the berries though is making me start to think I would really like berry soup! Thanks for the unique entry to SHF.

I actually really like fruit soups. I made a strawberry one not too long ago that is one of my faves. I love your blueberry soup! It has much more finesse than mine and the color is so beautiful! Besides, anything with mascarpone gets my vote. ;)

I'm Chinese so the idea of dessert soup is no stranger to me ;) But blueberry soup! That's certainly unique. Yours look so pretty!~ I'm currently enjoying the blueberry season too with the cheaper prices :)